A Walk in the Park

As promised, here are some pics of my lovely day at the park when my best friend Doug came to visit Sunday.  He, Matt, and I grilled hot dogs and hamburgers (yum!), then fed the ducks, splashed in the water, and visited the McKinley Memorial. 

The picnic table you can see there across the water is where we hung out and ate.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for our little outting.  So far, summer here in Ohio has been blazzingly hot and humid or rainy and humid (did I mention it's humid?), so to have a day that was warm and breezy was amazing!

Gillions of ducks patiently awaited our leftover bread.

Canadian geese, mallards, and adorable little wood ducks loitered on the bank and in the water around us while we ate.  I couldn't resist feeding them some hamburger buns.  One brave mallard stayed very close to me the whole time and even took bread right from my hand!  Wish I'd gotten a pic of him.

Left: Matt, right: Doug.

After we fed ourselves and the ducks, we walked along the river and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery.

The spillways we passed along our stroll looked so cool and inviting, I just couldn't resist kicking off my sandals and getting my feet wet!

After playing in the water and taking some more pics, we walked up the hill to the massive McKinley Memorial.  There's like a million stairs (108 to be exact.  Only feels like a million) to the top and I kinda wanted to hum the "Rocky" theme while going up them lol.

Doug stops for a quick pic

The McKinley Memorial was built between 1905-1907 as a final resting place for President McKinley and his wife.  It stands 7 stories tall and has a beautiful white dome inside decorated with a stained glass skylight. 

The acoustics inside were so amazing I could hardly resist singing.  "The hills are alive...with the sound of music..."
All in all, it was a wonderful day made even more wonderful by getting to spend it with two of my favorite guys.  Hopefully it won't be another five years before I get to see Doug again!

Today's Random Kawaii & My Busy Sunday

First, let's make with the cuteness.

There just never seems to be enough tasty sticks to go around right?  And that poor lil guy on the end doesn't even have a chance.  I feel your pain buddy :P

Next, I had an action-packed Sunday.  My best friend Doug came to visit from California while he was on this side of the country visiting his folks.  We had a fun but all too brief visit.  I'll do a post on that soon, but here's a pretty pic of the park we went to and cooked out at to tide you over:

Finally, after Doug left, I went to a girls' night get-together at my friend Cystal's house this evening.  We watched a movie, ate yummy food, and played games.  It was really fun.  She's posting a video of one of our games on her Facebook soon, so I'll link it when it's uploaded.
Ok, I've been running all day and want to relax now, so this is a very tired TokyoChel signing off for now.  Till next time! :)

Swarovski's "House of Hello Kitty" Event

Earlier this month, Swarovski teamed up with Hello Kitty for a glittering Tokyo event to benefit the Japanese Red Cross earthquake relief fund.  Cute-spotting blog 8tokyo shared some great photos from "House of Hello Kitty," and now I share them with you! 

Hello Blingy! lol

The 10-day event was free to the public and featured celebrity appearances, custom art installations, and limited-edition Swarovski x Hello Kitty products, all to benefit such a great cause.  Man, I woulda given my left pinky toe to be there! lol
Click here to visit Swarovski Japan's site and see some of the beautiful Hello Kitty jewelry and art.  Check out 8tokyo's two "House of Hello Kitty" posts here.

The Beauty of Okinawa

Takako and the lovely people over at 8tokyo have been posting gorgeous photos of their visit to Okinawa, a vibrant, tropical island in the south of Japan.  Click their link to see more amazing photos and read about their trip.

Thanks to writer Takako and 8tokyo for sharing your experiences in this lovely travel destination.

A Tour of Hong Kong Cute with La Carmina

Trendy blogger La Carmina was in Hong Kong recently and shared some awesome pics of some of their totally kawaii boutiques.  Click her link for the rest this great post!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us La Carmina.  Hong Kong looks like a shopper's paradise!



Today's Makeup Look - Pink n Purple

When I was in DC last year with Cindi, I wore this look to a dinner at the Gaylord National Hotel & Resort and received several compliments on it.  It's really one of the simplest looks I do, with just 2-3 colors, and its easy to recreate with your favorite pink and purple eyeshadows.

Gaylord National where we stayed. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Just cover the lower part of your lid in a pretty pink then sweep deep purple into the crease and blend it out.  I finished with white on the inner corners and brow bone to highlight.

Products used:  Hard Candy baked eyeshadow duo in Ab Fab (hot pink and bright purple - I love the reference to BBC's "Absolutely Fabulous" comedy!)
Wet n Wild Mega Liner in 861 Black
Maybelline Eye Studio cream eyeliner in Blackest Black (for waterline)
Any white shadow for highlighting inner corner and browbone
Select Lash lashes in S42 Black
Cover Girl Cheekers blush in Classic Pink (any bubblegum pink will do)
L'Oreal Colorjuice lip color in Shimmy Pop (any cool-toned pinkish purple will do)

Gorgeous pics of my two fave travel destinations

I found these beautiful shots and just had to share them with you!  I'm totally going to visit and hopefully live in these two countries someday soon.  Don't worry, you can come visit.  If you're nice.  And you join my blog ;)

Mount Fuji in the spring

                                     

Himeji Castle surrounded by sakura (cherry blossoms)

Beautiful, bustling Tokyo!

Positano, Italy on the Amalfi Coast

Florence, Italy

A cliff town in the Cinque Terre, Italy

After seeing these beautiful pics, you know you wanna go too!